FDA Scheduled to Review REMOXY XRT, the Newest of OxyContin's Proposed Competition on November 13

"The active ingredient in OxyContin, oxycodone, has been implicated in thousands of deaths, thousands more in addictions, disrupted thousands of lives and the FDA is considering questionable evidence to bring the newest of the potentially deadly heroin-like substances to your doctor's prescription pad," states Larry Golbom, radio host and registered pharmacist. Listen to The Prescription Addiction Radio Show - Breaking the Silence on WGUL 860 am (www.wgul860.com) on Sunday night, November 9 - 9:05 pm to hear about the FDA's upcoming hearing.

Tampa, FL (PRWEB) November 6, 2008 -- "With the active ingredient of OxyContin, oxycodone, presently wreaking havoc in America, the FDA is holding a day-long meeting to review a product that may increase the addiction to and the deaths from the silent prescription drug epidemic that The Prescription Addiction Radio Show - Breaking the Silence talks about every week," states the host, Larry Golbom. A product named REMOXY XRT will be up for review before the FDA on November 13. REMOXY XRT is "purportedly less easily defeated than other formulations of controlled release oxycodone," (OxyContin) states the Federal Register (Vol. 73, No. 199).

The studies put forth before the FDA are questionable, claims Larry Golbom, a registered pharmacist for over 30 years. He explains, "The matrix holding the active ingredient is listed as Sucrose Acetate Isobutyrate Acid (SAIB). Sucrose (common table sugar) is an original component of the formulation. The radio show has not seen published studies on heating or baking the product. With the melting temperature of sugar being less than oxycodone, there is every reason to believe this 'purportedly less easily defeated formulation' can be separated out by a heating procedure that will produce pure oxycodone."

According to the manufacturer, studies indicate that REMOXY XRT is safer than OxyContin when combined with alcohol, and "crush resistant". However, Larry Golbom points out, the studies may have been done with subjects who had not consumed food. He explains, "REMOXY XRT has more than a doubling of absorption when food has been consumed prior to ingestion. The chewing studies may also have been performed with empty stomachs (remember the sucrose component?)."

Studies by the Drug Enforcement Administration indicate that less than 3% of the purported deaths that include OxyContin came from snorting or injecting the product (see Summary of Medical Examiner Reports on Oxycodone-Related Deaths, http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/oxycodone/oxycontin7.htm). If REMOXY XRT is released as "safer" and therefore more widely prescribed, Golbom worries "it follows that the increased distribution of oxycodone may actually increase deaths."

Golbom also notes that the Principal Investigator listed in the manufacturer's press release (SAN MATEO, Calif. and BRISTOL, Tenn., Dec. 6, 2007, PRIME NEWSWIRE) is a pain management doctor who also has a license to dispense Suboxone for addiction. The Principal Investigator was also recently a consultant to Cephalon, a company lately much in the news (see Department of Justice press release at http://news.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20080929/29sep20081301.html). The radio host suggests that the motivation and incentives to put subjective results before the FDA by the listed Principal Investigator must be questioned.

Finally, according to the FDA, the studies for REMOXY XRT apparently lasted for 12 weeks. Golbom criticizes the fact that there are no reports of long-term follow-up to the addiction potential or severe withdrawal that is accompanied by the long term use of oxycodone.

Listen to both experts and guests who have been negatively affected by the active ingredient of REMOXY XRT on Sunday night. Try to catch the testimony Larry Golbom, along with other concerned citizens, will be giving before the committees publicly on November 13 and find out what you can do to help.

About Oxycodone Abuse:

Please visit the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's website for more information: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/oxycodone/oxycodone.htm

About The Prescription Addiction Radio Show ++ Breaking the Silence: http://www.prescriptionaddictionradio.com

Hosted by Larry Golbom, a registered pharmacist for over 30 years, The Prescription Addiction Radio Show, sponsored by Novus Medical Detox Center (http://www.novusdetox.com), takes a cultural look at our prescription drug use in America and is dedicated to the thousands of families who are being or have been affected by the misuse of prescription drugs.

The Prescription Addiction Radio Show is dedicated to exploring some of the challenges we face in trying to turn around the explosion in the misuse of prescription drugs. The Prescription Addiction Radio Show believes that addiction is a predisposed disease, whether created by poor personal choices or created from following the advice of your doctor. No individual wishes it upon themselves.

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